After the Honeymoon
by Rat
Summary: Tom and B'Elanna, season seven after Repression. In the episode there is brief mention about a revolt by Tom and Harry that B'Elanna helped suppress, it got me thinking...
1. Default Chapter

Part one  
  
After Repression (where Tuvok gets a letter from his son with a secret message to turn the Maquis into super obsessed Maquis. A Mutiny develops, Captain Janeway gets very angry, Tom and Harry unsuccessfully stage a revolt off screen, and then at the end of the episode everyone happy goes about their business and watch a double creature feature.   
  
So I had to make a little more out of the in between where everyone goes back to normal, and a resulting misunderstanding.   
He felt the ship drop out of warp. He listened carefully, but other then the constant background hum of the warp core he heard nothing out of the ordinary. He sat on the ground with his back against the wall and his knees pulled up to his chest. He already searched the room (or more accurately the closet) for escape routes but other then a small vent on the ceiling there were no openings. If someone told him a week ago that what he had to look forwards to was a sprained wrist complete with deep gash to his arm, a possible concussion, and hours locked in a dimly lit storage room, he might have laughed. He might have howled with laugher while sipping champagne in the Delta Flyer just hours after being married. But here he was, and yippee isn't married life fun.   
  
The ship started moving again. Tom placed his left hand on the floor and closed his eyes. Warp, over warp 4 at least. No one believed him when he said he could feel the ship move, not that it mattered if they believed him or not, if you paid enough attention to the vibrations in the hull, you could learn. It also help to keep his mind off the fact that the room felt much smaller then it did when the door first slammed shut on him.  
  
He felt tired but he couldn't stay awake forever. He closed his eyes and shifted position, moving only made the pounding in his head intensify. He knew he wouldn't fall asleep sitting up.   
  
But he did.   
  
----  
  
They forgot. It was understandable after the mind meld to bring the Maquis back to their senses the entire episode felt foggy and unreal, and then there was the very real dilemma of avoiding the Captain. B'Elanna rushed to engineering and ran a full diagnostic. In the confusion no one noticed that Harry and Tom were missing. Not at first at least.   
  
Everyone returned to their posts, confused and angry, but that didn't change that they were in a hostile quadrant where it seemed every week another alien came up with an excuse to attack them.   
  
The Captain noticed first. She sat in the Big Chair and contemplated her bridge, and the lack of two of her senior officers. "Computer, located Ensign Kim and Lt Paris."  
  
The Computer answered that they were on the bridge. Janeway looked around and her eyes landed on a pile of unclaimed com badges. great.   
  
"Janeway to Chakotay."  
  
"Yes Captain?"   
  
"I'd like to see you on the bridge." She waited, and moments later he emerged from his office. "We're missing Kim and Paris. Any ideas?"  
  
He frowned and touched his com badge. "Chakotay to Torres."  
  
"Torres here." She answered.  
  
"Where are Kim and Paris?"  
  
There was a pause. "Oh." Came the answer. "I'll find them."   
  
Torres looked around Engineering as though expecting to find the answer there. This would be one of the more hazy parts of the last 24 hours. But the memories were there, and after a few minutes of thought, she remembered most of what she needed to.   
  
Harry sat behind the force-field with an expression that made B'Elanna wonder what made her think dealing with him first would be easier.   
  
"What?" He asked when he saw B'Elanna.  
  
She lowered the force-field. "Hi. I'm back."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"No, I mean I'm back. See?" She indicated the uniform. "No more Maquis."   
  
He stood up. "Everyone's back to normal?"   
  
"Yeah. The Captain wants to see you."  
  
He nodded and walked past her. She figured that went fairly well considering the circumstances. Now for Tom. She locked him in the storage cabinet, feeling it would be the least likely place for him to cause problems.   
  
She unlocked the door and opened it, expecting the same kind of reception she received from Harry.   
  
"Tom?" He didn't move, she walked in and knelt beside him. He didn't look good. There was blood on his uniform, but his eyes were open and he was watching her intently.   
  
"Hey." He shifted and looked up. He looked at her closely, took in the Starfleet uniform. "It's over?"   
  
"Yeah. Everything's okay now." She reached for his hand. He kept his right arm close to his body and she realised where all the blood came from.   
  
"What happened to you?"   
  
"You don't remember?"  
  
She bit her lip dreading an answer to her next question. "I did this?"  
  
He coughed slightly. "No, it's not your fault. I fell."   
  
She kept silent while he shifted and with her help, got to his feet. "Let's get you to sickbay."   
  
"No, I'm fine." He stretched slightly and winced. "We have a dermal regenerator in our quarters, remember?"  
  
"What about your wrist?"   
  
"The bleeding stopped, it wasn't that bad to begin with. I'll be fine."   
  
"The Captain wants to see you."   
  
He shrugged. "I can beam directly to our Quarters, get cleaned up, and be on the bridge in ten minutes."  
  
"I did this to you." B'Elanna whispered, horror apparent in her voice as more memories resurfaced.   
  
Tom leaned back against the bulkhead and tried to think of something to say. "It wasn't your fault. Anyhow, we all know you aren't the only one prone to bouts of possession. At least you've never been body-snatched or manipulated by a ship."  
  
"What did I do to you?"   
  
Tom didn't hesitate. "Do you still want to take over the ship and dump us all on the nearest M-class planet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"It wasn't you, don't worry." He smiled wryly.   
  
This is what she hated about him most, she couldn't read his expression. Most people were an open book, Harry for example wasn't ever anything but up front. But Tom Paris, master manipulator and… no. She looked again at the man she married and remembered it was a long time since she thought of him as anything other then honourable. "You'll be okay?"   
  
He nodded. "Just waiting for the Chief Engineer to initiate site to site transport." He reminded her. B'Elanna touched her COM badge, voiced the order, and watched as Tom disappeared in the glow of the transporter beam. 


	2. part 2

Part two  
  
Upon seeing the familiar surroundings of their quarters Tom finally allowed himself to relax. Unfortunately the pent up adrenaline was the only thing keeping him on his feet and he ended up nearly falling to his knees right there on the floor. He did manage to make it to the couch, though barely. He'd give anything at the moment just to have a few hours to lay down and rest. He couldn't remember every being so tired before. But he couldn't rest, he pushed himself up and shed himself of his uniform on the way to the bathroom. He threw the uniform into the recycler. He'd feel better after a sonic shower and a few minutes with the dermal regenerator. With the uniform off he now saw the rest of the bruising. Not good, but he didn't have the time to use the regenerator on all of it yet. He could do his face and the gash on his arm, the rest could wait until later. At the moment appearances were more important then comfort. But so far as comfort was concerned, there were ways around that too.  
  
Tom leaned back in the turbo lift as it carried him to the bridge. A headache throbbed behind his eyes making the fatigue that much worse. Taking the pain suppressant was a gamble as they weren't supposed to be available to crew members for the exact reason that it was better to fix the problem by going to sick bay then simply masking it.   
  
He straightened just as the door opened and walked confidently onto the bridge looking fresh and eager to serve. Perfect Starfleet officer mode! He nodded to Harry, who looked more then a little dishevelled.   
  
The Captain turned in his direction, worry first creasing her brow and then relief at seeing her helmsmen looking virtually untouched by the recent incident. He took his place at the helm as the crewmen vacated the spot and familiarized himself with the recent course changes.   
  
After three hours of sitting Tom wondered if his sore muscles might revolt and jump off his body on their own. It was definitely time for another dose of pain suppressant. He stretched backwards and glanced at the Captain. She was reading data adds in her chair, but she seemed to sense eyes on her and looked up. "Yes Lieutenant?"  
  
He grinned, "Request permission for a coffee break?"   
  
She smiled and nodded. "Of coarse." She glanced down at her own mug. "Mind refilling my cup along the way?"   
  
"No problem." He stood up and stretched again, suddenly he realised one very big problem. The room swayed. He turned back to his consul and entered some final data to cover his momentary distress. He could do this, no problem. He left of the support of his chair and picked up the Captain's standard issue mug.   
  
His foot stumbled on the stair. He caught the railing and hesitated a moment while all eyes turned to him. He laughed, what else was there to do. "First day with the new legs." He explained and took another step. Oh god, don't let this happen. He could actually feel the sudden relaxation of all the muscles in his right leg as his knee buckled. Tuvok arrived at his side first, rescuing the mug from his tenuous grasp and then helped Tom lower himself more gently to the floor.   
  
The Captain appeared at his side next. "Tom?"   
  
Tom blinked, trying to clear the spider webs from his brain. Dark spots were appearing in his vision. Harry's face appeared next. "Are you alright?"  
  
He nodded and closed his eyes, anything was better then the spinning of the bridge. But he could still feel it even with his eyes closed. "I'm okay." He tried to get back on his feet, but hands on his shoulders restrained him.   
  
"Just sit a moment." The Captain urged. "Are you sure you're alright?"  
  
Tom nodded and counted to ten before getting back on his feet.  
  
"Report to sickbay immediately." The Captain ordered. "Are you well enough to make it?" She watched him nod, but he wasn't convincing. "Harry, you go with him." Harry nodded curtly and took over the supporting role of keeping Tom on his feet. Slowly they made it to the turbo lift.   
  
"What happened?" Harry asked.   
  
Tom let himself sink to the floor. "I'm going to be sick. Deck five."  
  
"No. Belay that. You're going to sickbay."  
  
"I'm not dying Harry, I'm going to throw up. My quarters are closer." Tom insisted.   
  
It wasn't exactly true but Harry didn't argue. "Fine." He helped Tom back to his feet and they headed to his quarters. Inside they made their way to the bathroom and Harry waited as Tom sat on the floor with his face over the toilet bowl. He didn't throw up. "Ok, I'm fine." Slowly got up, picked up what he needed and walked to his bed to lay down.   
  
"Sickbay." Harry reminded him.   
  
"I'm fine, just dizzy." He opened his hand and Harry saw the pill just before Tom popped it in his moth.   
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I have a headache so I took a pain killer." Tom slowly got up. "See, better."  
  
"I saw what happened between you and B'Elanna, are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"Fine." Tom answered, this time more convincingly. "I'll even come back with you to the bridge and finish the shift."  
  
"Don't. Just rest. I'll think of something to tell the Captain."  
  
"Thanks."   
  
Harry didn't acknowledge. He didn't like the idea of lying to the Captain, or yet again covering for Tom doing something stupid. And that fact that this something stupid could really get his friend hurt… he ordered the turbo lift to take him to sickbay instead.   
  
"I'm the emergency medical hologram. I don't do house calls." The Doctor explained.  
  
Harry looked around seeing there were no patients in sickbay. "Just check up on him." Harry insisted. He saw the moment the Doctor relented and grinned. "Thanks." He returned to the bridge with a clear conscience.   
  
The Doctor walked to Tom Paris quarters but entered without knocking. Tom sat on the edge of the bed with a dermal regenerator treating bruises along his torso.   
  
"So this is what you do in your spare time." The doctor commented wryly.   
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Ensign Kim seemed worried about your welfare. Rightly so I see." The Doctor scanned Tom with his medical tricorder. "Mild concussion, why am I not surprised? No internal bleeding at least." He snatched the regenerator out of Tom's hand and assessed his injuries himself. "Am I correct in the assumption that these are man made wounds?"  
  
"I fell." Tom answered.   
  
"On a fist apparently. A report will have to be made of coarse. Can I also assume that your injuries stem from the recent excitement among the Maquis of our crew?" The Doctor waited for an answer but received none. "Come with me to sickbay and I will fill out the appropriate injury logs."  
  
"Don't." Tom said softly and stood up from the bed. "You said yourself that it isn't serious. There's no reason this should be filed in a report." He swayed slightly feeling another wave of nausea rush through him. The Doctor reached out a hand to steady him.  
  
"I imagine you have a good reason for bypassing protocol?"   
  
"Remember the tension between Starfleet and the Maquis when you were first activated? I didn't want to aggravate an already tense situation."  
  
"Seeing as I recall you are neither Maquis or Starfleet I don't think your current state will aggravate anyone other than myself." The Doctor reminded Tom dryly.   
  
Tom ignored the barb and switched to another tactic. "No one else got hurt right? There's no reason to make an issue out of this."  
  
The EMH caught a hint of desperation creeping into the Lieutenants voice. "Who did this to you Mr Paris?"  
  
"No one. It's not a big deal."   
  
The Doctor guided Tom back to the bed where he ran a more thorough scan. "I would say it is a very big deal." The Doctor started down at his tricorder and frowned. "Your injuries, including those you've already regenerated several hours ago suggest you were savagely attacked."  
  
"It wasn't like that."  
  
"Then how was it?" The Doctor asked.   
  
"It was an accident. I knew something was wrong and I shouldn't have provoked her, it was my own fault." Tom insisted.  
  
The Doctor looked around the room. "Lieutenant Torres?" He watched Tom's expression and knew he hit the truth. "She did this to you?"  
  
"No. She wasn't herself."  
  
"I need to file a report."  
  
"No you don't."   
  
The Doctor stood staring at his patient for a moment then made a decision. "Fine. But the Captain will be informed. The final decision will be hers."  
  
"No." Tom could see he couldn't convince the EMH to completely ignore the incident, but he didn't want to involve the Captain. "The Commander is responsible for overlooking crew welfare."   
  
The EMH considered the option looking for any hidden agenda, but could find none. He could not imagine the Commander being any less concerned for the well-being of his crew then the Captain. "Agreed. But you will still accompany me to Sickbay to finalize an official report on the incident."  
  
"Okay." Tom pulled his shirt back on, relieved that at least he eliminated the worst of the damage. 


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three  
  
Tom remained in sickbay for the better part of the day with the help of a mild sedative the Doctor gave him upon arrival. The time allowed the Doctor to catalogue the injuries both still on Tom's body and those stored in the dermal regenerator he confiscated form Tom's personal quarters. Chakotay found time to respond to the Doctor's request for a meeting at the end of the duty shift and regarded sickbay quizzically, unaware of the subject matter the Doctor wished to discuss with him other then that it had to do with Tom Paris. It had been a while since the subject of Tom Paris could make the Commander bristle with instant enmity, but he felt the familiar dread creeping up on him now. What did the Lieutenant do this time?  
  
He saw Tom laying on a biobed on his back, one arm folded up and behind his head for comfort. He didn't look any worse for wear. The Doctor greeted him immediately and out of the corner of his eye he saw Tom sit up.   
  
"Commander." Tom greeted him.   
  
Chakotay nodded his greeting to the pilot but focused his attention on the EMH. "What can I do for you?"   
  
The Doctor looked around sickbay as though to ensure that they were alone, he then passed Chakotay a data padd. "I am obligated to bring this matter to your attention."  
  
"I told him it wasn't a big deal Commander." Paris chimed in. He stood up and walked closer to where the two stood.   
  
Chakotay looked down at the padd and studied the information detailed within. "When did this happen."  
  
"Nearly ten hours ago."   
  
He looked at Tom. "I was unaware any one was injured in the mu- incident."   
  
"I'm fine. I tried to tell him it wasn't a big deal." He looked at the EMH and smirked. "See?"   
  
Chakotay eyed the pilot. "Who did this?" He accessed the visual display of Tom's injuries recreated by the EMH by the data available. It wasn't pretty, and Chakotay could hardly believe the injuries only occurred ten hours earlier.   
  
Tom glared at the EMH, and for once the Doctor seemed to be taking a less then enthusiastic approach to being the bearer of bad news. "It is my understanding that it was Lieutenant Torres."  
  
"Tom?"   
  
Tom turned toward the Commander, looking defensive and hostile. "It wasn't her fault."  
  
"Of coarse, as you've already explained she was provoked." The Doctor mocked. "I have examined Lieutenant Torres and she bears no injuries."   
  
Tom snatched the data padd from Chakotay and tossed it across the room. "This wasn't her fault, and I don't give a damn what the Doctor thinks he knows. You knew perfectly well that none of the Maquis are responsible for their actions while under the influence of that god dammed mind meld!"  
  
The Doctor glanced at Tom again quickly, then addressed Chakotay. "This isn't the first time." The EMH added hesitantly.  
  
Tom's reaction was immediate. "What the hell are you talking about? This is about the damn official incident report, not anything else!"  
  
The Doctor continued as though uninterrupted. "I have been aware for quite some time now that Mr Paris has been the recipient of numerous unexplainable injuries."   
  
"That's ridiculous." Tom paced the room.   
  
"Today is the first time I've had authorized access to the Lieutenants quarters, and I took to opportunity to confiscate his dermal regenerator."  
  
"Crew aren't supposed to have access to regenerators outside of sickbay."  
  
"Nonetheless, this is what I found." The Doctor handed Chakotay a second data padd detailing a record of injuries that were treated over the last six months.  
  
"How did you get those?" Tom asked softly.   
  
The EMH looked at Tom triumphantly. I suspected something like this was going on and Tuvok assisted me in adding an extra security protocol blocking complete erasure of records."   
  
Chakotay read the information detailed within carefully. "Tom, is this true? Did B'Elanna do this?"  
  
Tom glared at the Doctor but calmed down considerably. "No sir. All injures were obtained through the use of Holodeck combat training programs."  
  
"But the safety protocols on the Holodeck..."  
  
"Can be disabled." Tom answered for the Doctor.   
  
Chakotay and the Doctor both frowned, but the Doctor spoke first. "You have records of these programs I assume."   
  
"I erased them along with what I thought were the records contained in the regenerator." Tom answered. "B'Elanna has nothing to do with this."   
  
"Then use will correspond with allotted Holodeck time." The Doctor countered.   
  
"I overrode the commands, the programs were used outside of my allotted time." Tom sat back down on the biobed, waiting for the Doctors next accusation.   
  
"But the injuries, they correspond with..."  
  
"Humanoid opponents." Tom supplied.   
  
Chakotay watched the interplay, not knowing who to believe. "I'll need to see these programs."   
  
Tom nodded. "Now?" He watched Chakotay nod and led the way through the corridor to the holodeck. He stood at the panel for a moment considering the file he was about to open.   
  
"Tom Paris authorization beta-gamma-zero, initiate program Outside." He ordered, and the holodeck opened. They walked into the dining room of Sandrine's. Tom waited for the doors to close and led them out the front door. He walked down the street, and then turned down an alley away from the lit areas. The air smelt of rotten garbage, and Chakotay could hear cats fighting somewhere in the background. "It's here." Tom stopped and waited, and sure enough two men approached moments later. They were both Kazon. "Computer freeze program." He leaned against the wall and waited for the reactions.   
  
"Computer, state last access to this program." Chakotay ordered.   
  
The impersonal voice of the computer answered. "Last access occurred on stardate -----."   
  
Chakotay turned to Tom. "That was five years ago."   
  
Tom shrugged. "I delete the access records after using them." He reminded them.  
  
"Are there others?"  
  
"Computer, open program paris-redo." The scene around them disappeared to be replaced by one that looked like it belonged more in a horror movie. In the dim light a circle formed, featuring one man holding a knife and waiting. "Freeze program." He looked around. He waited for the Commander to ask for the last record for access to this one, and knew it would be several years ago and only accessed once, but he was prepared to offer the same excuse as for the last one. He watched the Commander and Doctor study the surroundings and took in their confused expressions. "It's the prison satellite. End program. Would you like to see the rest?" He watched the room return to the hologrid.   
  
"Not right now. Is B'Elanna aware of your past time?" Chakotay asked.  
  
"Not that I'm aware. So what now?"  
  
"Now we talk to B'Elanna." Chakotay answered. He activated his COM and asked her to meet him in the holodeck. Five minutes later she arrived.   
  
The first thing she saw was Tom's uncharacteristically morose expression. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"   
  
"I'm fine." He reached out his hand and she walked up to him. They stood as a unified front against an unknown threat.   
  
Chakotay tossed the data padd the Doctor showed him earlier to B'Elanna. She let go of Tom's hand and caught it easily. "What's this?" She looked down and read some of the entries. She felt Tom's hand on the small of her back.   
  
"I walked in on your husband earlier this afternoon healing a variety of injuries with a stolen dermal regenerator. Upon recall of the usage logs, I found a list of injuries over the last six months." The Doctor explained.   
  
Tom could feel B'Elanna tense under his hand. "I told them about the holo-programs I've been using." He said softly and deftly manoeuvred his hand under the back of her tunic. He watched Chakotay closely.  
  
"What holo-programs?" B'Elanna asked him, caught off guard. Her eyes scanned the list of injuries. "What's going on?"  
  
Chakotay stepped forwards. "Are you aware Tom has been running combat programs without safety protocols enabled?"  
  
She looked down at Tom, she knew he was trying to communicate something to her by the pressure of his fingers on her back. "No, I- we haven't discussed it. No."   
  
Chakotay nodded, apparently accepting her answer. "Tom, your holodeck privileges are henceforth revoked unless the program is approved by myself or the Captain."   
  
"You don't have to tell the Captain." Tom said quickly. Chakotay narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I'll get any authorization I need from you. Captain Janeway has enough to worry about." He added.   
  
"And I'm taking you off the Conn until further notice."   
  
Tom took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I understand. How long?"  
  
Chakotay watched the pilot's reaction, it was all the proof he needed. "Until you prove to me you won't be taking any more unnecessary risks. You're duties will focus on sickbay until such a time that I deem appropriate."   
  
Tom nodded. "Can we go now?"  
  
Chakotay watched B'Elanna. She looked like she wanted to say something but didn't. He nodded and watched the two of them walk out, leaving himself and the Doctor alone in the holodeck.   
  
The Doctor started at the ground for a while. "I apologise Commander, apparently I jumped to the wrong conclusion. But I've witnessed no signs that the Lieutenant has been suffering from psychological distress. I was sure..." He let his sentence drift off.   
  
Chakotay patted the Doctor on the shoulder. "It's okay, we all make mistakes." He said and walked out.   
  
B'Elanna remained silent the entire way back to their quarters. Once inside she turned to Tom and watched as he tiredly sat down on the couch.   
  
"What that hell was that about? Are you aware of what you just did?"  
  
He nodded. "You think it doesn't bother me he took me off the bridge?"  
  
She stopped. "Why did you just let him do that? What programs did you show him?"  
  
He shrugged. "Old stuff. The Sandrine one, you know the one with the muggers in the back alley?"  
  
She nodded. "And?"  
  
"One from four years ago. I only used it once. I recreated the prison Harry and I were trapped in so I could fight the bastard who almost killed me. Good thing he didn't ask for any more, I'd have had to start going into your programs."   
  
"Good thing you didn't, seeing as they don't exist anymore." She paced the room. "How did he find the dermal regenerator?"  
  
"I wasn't feeling so great during my shift on the bridge, so Harry helped me back here then sicked the Doctor on me without warning."  
  
"Why didn't you just tell them the truth?"  
  
"I didn't tell them because it's none of their business." He stood up and wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her neck. "B'Elanna, it's okay, it doesn't matter what they think."   
  
She turned away from him. "No it's not okay."   
  
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;  
  
Chakotay sat in his office going through the injury logs from the dermal regenerator. It was a mistake to talk to B'Elanna with Tom in the room, the other man led the conversation in exactly the direction he wanted it to go. Of coarse now he also had another difficult task, just how could he inform the Captain the Chief Con officer would no longer be serving on the bridge, and how would he explain why?  
  
He decided not to. He called B'Elanna to meet him in his office instead.   
  
She wouldn't meet his eyes as she sat down. "This is about Tom?"  
  
He nodded. "I know he's lying. I think I know what's happening." He said.   
  
She looked up. "Then why did you take him off the conn?"  
  
He ignored her question and stood up to replicate two cups of coffee, he gave one to her. "I know it's you, I just want to know why. Tom doesn't come across as the kind of guy who'd just let this happen."  
  
"He isn't." She answered. "If you knew he was lying, why did you go along with the holodeck scenario?"  
  
"That was for the Doctor's benefit. I also noticed that Tom is the only one useing the dermal regenerator. Does he ever hurt you?"  
  
She shook her head. "Tom would never hurt me Chakotay."   
  
"So then why do you hurt him?"  
  
She was thrown by the question. "I don't." She answered clumsily. "I mean I don't try to. Tom understands."  
  
Chakotay stood up and paced. "I thought Tuvok was helping you control your anger. Are the meditation sessions helping at all?"  
  
B'Elanna's eyes opened wider and she too stood up. "Is that what you think? That I lash out at Tom at the end of a bad day? That I would use him like a punching bag and he'd just stand there and take it? It's not when we fight that these things happen. I've never hurt Tom deliberately, it's when we're together." She emphasized the word together hoping Chakotay would catch on to her meaning without her having to spell it out for him.   
  
Chakotay blinked. "When..."  
  
B'Elanna nodded. "It's all in the Starfleet medical database, somewhat exaggerated by overenthusiastic anthropologists, but some of it's close enough to the truth."  
  
"Oh. So then," Chakotay paused, trying desperately to think of something to say. "It's just a cultural thing? Why did Tom lie and make up the holodeck story? The Doctor would have understood."  
  
B'Elanna sighed. "It was bad enough when Seven was spying on us, imagine have the Doctor to contend with! And you know how much the Doctor loves gossip, how long do you think it would take for this to make it's way around the ship?"   
  
"I don't want to hear anything about this ever again." Chakotay sighed. "Either be more careful, or something, and tell Tom I'm not taking him off the conn. Goodnight B'Elanna."   
  
"Goodnight." 


End file.
